East Bengal to honour Milkha Singh with Bharat Gaurav Award

Kolkata’s football club East Bengal on 26 July 2016 announced that the 2016 Bharat Gaurav Award, also known as Pride of India Award, will be conferred on legendary athlete Milkha Singh.

Singh will be honoured with the prestigious award on the East Bengal Foundation Day (1 August 2016). Along with the award, a cheque of 2 lakh rupees will also be presented to him.

Besides, special awards along with a cash prize of 1 lakh rupees each will be given to East Bengal players Shyam Thapa and Shyamal Ghosh.

The trophy for the Best Footballer of the Year will be given to South Korean midfielder Do Dong Hyun, who will also receive 50000 rupees.

Veteran sports reporter Debashish Dutta and photo journalist Rony Roy will also be receiving awards for their contribution over the years.

About Milkha Singh

• Milkha Singh is a former Indian track and field sprinter.

• He is also known as The Flying Sikh.

• He was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army.

• He was the only Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games until Krishna Poonia won the discus gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

• He is best remembered for achieving fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games.

• He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games.

• He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

• He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1958.

About East Bengal Football Club

• East Bengal Football Club is a professional football club.

• It is based in Kolkata, West Bengal.

• It was founded on 1 August 1920.

• It is the most consistent football club of India.

• It currently competes in the I-League, the top-tier of Indian football pyramid.

• The club is the current holder of the Calcutta Football League.

• The club has represented India the most number of times in the Asian competitions.

• The club has a long-standing rivalry with giant club Mohun Bagan, with whom it contests the Kolkata derby.

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